According to Markus Lehto, the agent of Sami Salo, the announcement of the 40-year-old defenseman’s retirement is to come soon, putting an end to a 15-year career. In an article posted at iltalehti.fi, Lehto said it’s very unlikely Salo will continue playing after he suffered a wrist injury at the end of the 2013-14 season. The injury was so severe, Salo missed the entire 2014-15 season, where he served as an unrestricted free agent.
In 15 years, spent with the Ottawa Senators, Vancouver Canucks and Tampa Bay Lightning, Salo has recorded 99 goals and 339 points in 878 career games. Drafted in the 9th round, 239th overall by the Senators in 1996, Salo spent four seasons in the capital of Canada. Much like his entire career would end up, Salo spent the majority of his tenure with the Senators on the injury list. His highest amount in games played came during the 2001-02 season where he played 66 games.
To start the 2002-03 season, Salo became a member of the Vancouver Canucks, a place he’d call home for the next nine years of his career. While he managed a career-high 79 games that year, Salo’s best year with the club came in the 2006-07 season, where he put up 37 points in 67 games. In that time, he became one of the most feared point-shooters in the league. His cannon of a blast was one of the hardest and most accurate, and was a big reason why the Canucks powerplay remained deadly. When Salo was on his game and healthy, he averaged over 20 minutes per game every season he was with the team. Unfortunately, injuries continued to pile up. After compiling 25 points in 69 games during the 2011-12 season, Salo signed a two-year deal with the Tampa Bay Lightning.
In the two years combined with his third and final team, Salo managed to play 117 games and put up 34 points. A career plagued by unfortunate injuries, Salo was forced to sit out the entire 2014-15 season with a wrist injury suffered from the prior season.
A total list of Salo’s injuries include:
Head
Eye injury in 2010 – 1 game
Broken nose in 2007 – 8 games
Upper-body
Right shoulder in 2003 – 2 games
Left shoulder in 2006 – 32 games
Broken rib in 2009 – 15 games
Back spasms in 2002 – 6 games
Left wrist in 2007 – 9 games
Lower Body
Loss of testicle 2010 – 3 games
Groin injury in:
2002 – 1 game
2006 – 1 game
2007 – 5 games
2008 – 7 games
2010 – 4 games
Right MCL sprain in 2009 – 7 games
Left knee sprain in 2006 – 3 games
Leg injury in 2003 – 8 games
Leg injury in 2010 – 3 games
Torn Achilles in 2010-11 – 55 games
Miscellaneous/Undisclosed
Flu in 2007 – 2 games
Undisclosed in 2008 – 2 games
Undisclosed in 2009 – 1 game
Lower-body in 2009 – 2 games
15 years of NHL service, 41 career injuries and finishing just one goal shy of the 100-goal mark, Sami Salo has earned his rest. While he finishes his career without a Stanley Cup ring, he does have two Silver medals (2001, 2006) and two Bronze medals (2010, 2014) as a member of Finland’s national team.
